The present invention relates to closure devices, and more particularly to an improved closure device for joining juxtaposed sections of artificial turf.
Artificial turf-covered playing surfaces are typically comprised of numerous sheets of artificial turf joined along their edges. For example, a standard size football field is commonly comprised of 25 to 28 individual turf sections each measuring approximately five yards in width and seventy yards in length. It is important that the individual turf sections be securely joined since unconnected sections of turf make a poor appearance and pose a potential hazard for athletes playing on the surface.
It has also become commonplace to customize field appearances depending on events. For example, a single football end zone may have the insignia of a college team on a Saturday and a professional team on a Sunday. This is done by selectively joining different end-zone interior sections into the field.
One popular method of joining together sections of artificial turf is the use of interlockable engagement means, such as toothed or coiled zippers. The zippers have opposed strings or rows of interlockable elements or "teeth" which are brought into interlocking engagement by the movement of a slide fastener in one direction along the rows and are disengaged by movement of the fastener in an opposite direction. The slide fastener is engaged to the teeth at one end of the row and disengaged from the teeth at the opposite end, often 70 or more yards away from the beginning.
The use of zippers to connect turf sections, however, has, many problems. The zippers on a playing surface are subjected to tremendous amounts of physical punishment, such as being stepped upon by cleated shoes, run over by vehicles, and exposed to harsh weather conditions. Also, the zippers tend to become clogged with dirt and other substances during an event. Furthermore, because the markings on a playing surface are typically removed with ammonia, plastic, rather than brass or other metallic teeth, must be used. As a result, the zipper teeth quite often break or become otherwise disengaged.
It is very difficult to re-engage broken teeth, particularly when they are located near the middle of a field. Presently known slide fasteners cannot travel over the teeth, and typically, in order to replace a small length of zipper, the entire zipper must be detached from both juxtaposed edges of turf and a new zipper must be sewn onto the turf. Furthermore, if no teeth are broken and the sections merely become unjoined at some portion, it is presently necessary to draw the slide fastener across the entire length of the field. These limitations inherent in currently-used slide fasteners add greatly to the cost of maintaining an artificial turf playing field.
There exists a need, therefore, for an improved device for joining juxtaposed sections of artificial turf.
There exists a further need for such a device which eliminates the necessity of drawing a slide fastener the entire length of a turf section when only a small portion needs to be joined.